All the spots in the last 16 round at Wimbledon 2008 have been filled giving us eight highly anticipated matches featuring 7 unseeded players.
Federer vs. 2002 Wimbledon Champion
One of the hottest match-ups in the fourth round will take place between five-time defending champion, Federer, and the last man to win the Wimbledon title before Federer made it his personal playground, Lleyton Hewitt.
The two players have a long history together as they faced off on 20 previous occasions. The world number one leads Hewitt 13-7 and has won their last 11 straight encounters including 2 wins at Wimbledon in 2004 and 2005.
Federer’s run this year on grass has been close to flawless. The Swiss ace captured the Halle title before heading to Wimbledon where he has not dropped a set in the first three rounds.
Hewitt, who is seeded 20th, made it to the quarterfinals at the warm up event in Queen’s Club, where he was almost white-washed by Novak Djokovic, and had to endure a tough five-set match in the first round at Wimbledon, before he comfortably eased through the following to rounds.
Their matches are always interesting though and this fourth round clash will probably be the first real test for Federer at the Championships so far.
Youzhny Seeking Revenge Against Rafa
On the opposite side of the draw lies another thrilling match up between second seed and two-time runner-up, Rafael Nadal, and 17th-seed, Mikhail Youzhny. In a repeat to last year’s fourth round match, Youzhny will be looking to avenge his five-set loss to the Spaniard, who rallied back from 2 sets down to topple Youzhny 4-6, 3-6. 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Nadal however was not as successful in their last meeting where Youzhny almost double-bageled the Spaniard in the final in Chennai earlier this year.
Despite that tough defeat, Nadal maintains a 6-4 head-to-head lead over the Russian.
Nadal has dropped one set en route to the fourth round while Youzhny is coming off two consecutive five-set battles most recently against Radek Stepanek.
This fourth round showdown is surely hard to predict given the two players’ history of eliminating one another in the majors, as Youzhny dumped Nadal out of the 2006 US Open after Nadal had outlasted him at the Australian Open in 2005.
Gasquet vs. Murray
Last year’s semifinalist, Richard Gasquet, is set to face Britain’s only hope at Wimbledon, Andy Murray. The 8th-seeded Frenchman holds a 2-0 lead over Murray however the two have never played on grass.
This match could prove to be one of the tightest in the fourth round as both players have had similar preparation heading into Wimbledon. Gasquet, seeded 8th and ranked 10 in the world, has reached the quarterfinals at the Queen’s club where he lost to David Nalbandian in 3 sets, while Murray, seeded 12th and ranked 11 in the world, reached the same stage at the same tournament but retired from his quarterfinal match with an injury.
Gasquet however had a bit more of match practice as he participated in another warm up prior to Wimbledon, where he fell in the second round to his countryman, Marc Gicquel.
Murray will be looking to impress in front of his home crowd and will be trying to improve on his best performance so far at the tournament as he has never passed the fourth round at the All England Club (lost to Baghdatis, 2006 fourth round).
Remaining Clashes
Unseeded Marat Safin will be looking to capitalize on his recent success as he faces 13th-seed Stanislas Wawrinka. The Russian former world number one has never beaten Wawrinka in their previous two encounters but will be attempting to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2005 Australian Open.
Wawrinka had never passed the third round at Wimbledon, while Safin is a former quarterfinalist (lost in 2001 quarters to Ivanisevic).
Mario Ancic, who is the last man to beat Federer in Wimbledon, faces 22nd-seed Fernando Verdasco, while 2006 semifinalist, Marcos Baghdatis (seeded 10) meets 31-seeded Spaniard, Feliciano Lopez.
The two remaining matches feature four unseeded players, Rainer Schuettler against Andy Roddick’s conquerer, Janko Tipsarevic, and young Croat, Marin Cilic versus France’s Arnaud Clement.
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